骑士 (qí shì) — knight; horseman; rider; equestrian; cavalier (… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

In modern Chinese 骑士 most often means a medieval European knight in shining armor (from the examples and usage). It can also mean a generic horseman or competitive equestrian, but the chivalric, Western sense is the default at HSK 7.

noun

knighthorsemanriderequestriancavalier (historical)

Measure word · 个

Examples

骑士。
Zhè wèi qí shì chuān zhuó shǎn liàng de kǎi jiǎ.
This knight is wearing shiny armor.
骑士，。
Tā shì yì míng yōu xiù de qí shì, cān jiā guò hěn duō mǎ shù bǐ sài.
He is an excellent equestrian and has participated in many equestrian competitions.
骑士。
Ōu zhōu zhōng shì jì de qí shì men yǒu yán gé de dào dé zhǔn zé.
Medieval European knights had strict moral codes.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

骑qíriding

A 骑 (riding) 士 (person) is a person skilled at riding, a knight.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 騎; 骑 is its simplified writing.

馬奇騎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

馬馬mǎhorse

Sound part声符shēngfú

奇

奇qí騎qí

Same sound today

The traditional form 騎 combines 馬, meaning horse, with 奇, which supplies the sound, for riding a horse; the simplified 骑 is a later shorthand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Appears in

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